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Missions

Official Mission Page	Mission Education Page	Questions being researched:
ACE -- Advanced Composition Explorer	Cosmic and Heliospheric Learning Center	What is the isotopic composition of the solar corona, solar wind and the interstellar medium? How is the solar corona formed and accelerated to produce the solar wind?
Cluster II	.	How does the solar wind interact with the magnetosphere? What does the 3-D structure of the plasma look like in the cusp and geotail regions at scales of 500 km?
CRRES -- Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite	.	How does Earth's radiation environment affect microelectronic circuitry? What is the composition of the ions near the Earth? How does the magnetosphere interact with the ionosphere?
Equator-S	.	How does the equatorial magnetosphere change during sub-storm events? How does the near-earth plasma belt change with time to account for auroral currents? How are the ion and electron beams produced which generate aurora?
FAST -- Fast Auroral Snapshot Explorer	Education Page Education Page	How do the particles and fields in the upper atmosphere change during an aurora?
GEC -- Geospace Electrodynamic Connections	Education and Outreach Page	What mechanisms are responsible for the way that electrons interact with the ionosphere? How are processes in the ionosphere coupled to the magnetosphere? What are the important time and space scales that define energy transfer and dissipation in the ionosphere?
Genesis	Education Page	What is the sun made of? Are the Earth and planets mad of the same stuff?
GEOTAIL	.	How does the magnetotail region produce high-energy particles? How does the magnetic field in the magnetotail region change with time? How do the particles and fields in the magnetotail, plasma sheet and magnetopause interact with each other?
RHESSI -- High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager	Education Page Explanation of Name Change	How do particles such as electrons and protons get accelerated during solar flares? Where does the energy for powering these sudden releases originate?
IMAGE	POETRY	How is the magnetosphere changed by its interaction with the solar wind? How are plasmas transported from place to place within the magnetosphere? What causes magnetospheric plasmas to be lost from the system during storms?
IMP-8 -- Interplanetary Monitoring Platform	.	What kinds of particles and fields exist in the Earth's magnetotail region? How does the magnetotail change in response to the solar wind?
Interball	.	What is the relationship between processes in the geotail and the particle acceleration above the auroral oval? How do solar flares and X-ray bursts affect the geotail and cusp regions?
ISTP -- International Solar Terrestrial Physics	ISTP Outreach	How do processes seen on the solar surface affect the Earth's space environment? How do particles flow from the Sun and enter the magnetosphere of the Earth?
MC -- Magnetospheric Constellation	Education and Outreach Page	How does the magnetotail store, transport, and release matter and energy?
MMS -- Magnetospheric MultiScale	Education and Outreach Page	How do small-scale processes control large-scale phenomenology, such as magnetotail dynamics, plasma entry into the magnetosphere, and substorm initiation?
POLAR	.	What is the role of the ionosphere in geomagnetic storms? What are the properties of the particles and fields near the Earth's polar regions? How is energy from the magnetosphere deposited into the upper atmosphere and auroral regions?
SAMPEX -- Solar Anomalous Magnetosphere Explorer	Outreach Page	How do high-energy particles entering the magnetosphere affect the Earth's upper atmosphere? What is the isotopic composition of solar flares? How are cosmic rays affected by the solar activity cycle?
SOHO -- Solar Heliospheric Observatory	Explore! and Stanford "Solar Center"	What processes in the Sun produce the solar wind? What is the internal structure of the Sun? What causes the activity seen on the surface of the Sun?
Solar-B	Education and Outreach Page	What are the origins of solar activity?
Spartan 201-05	.	How does the solar corona expand to become the solar wind? What are the speeds and temperatures at the base of the solar wind? How is the solar wind accelerated?
STEREO	Education and Outreach Page Education and Outreach Page	How are coronal mass ejections produced? How do they evolve in the solar corona? How are CME particles accelerated? What is the 3-D structure of a CME enroute to the earth?
TIMED	Education and Outreach Page	What are the physical properties of the winds in the upper atmosphere of the earth in the ionosphere?
TRACE -- Transition Region and Coronal Explorer	..Education Page	What is the 3-D structure of features seen on the Sun's surface? How is the corona heated? What triggers solar flares?
ULYSSES	Education Outreach	What does the solar wind look like near the poles of the Sun? What does the Sun's magnetic field look like near its poles? How does the polar wind and magnetic field change during sunspot maximum conditions?
Voyager	.	Where is the solar heliopause located beyond the orbit of Pluto? What are the properties of the interstellar medium? How does the interstellar medium interact with the solar wind?
WIND	.	What kinds of plasma interactions happen as the solar wind impacts the Earth's magnetosphere? How is energy transported out of the Earth's magnetosphere and into the up-stream solar wind?
Yohkoh	YPOP Education page	How does the Sun produce X-ray flares and other activity? How does the level of activity change over time? How is the chromosphere and corona heated?

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